Buccaneers WR’s injury proves more serious than team hoped
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' wide receiver has been decimated once again this season. The Bucs have been without Chris Godwin for the majority of the season, and Mike Evans was lost for what is speculated to be the remainder of the regular season.
The two injuries to their stars at the wideout are the focus of many, but the Bucs have also been without second-year WR Jalen McMillan for the season, and that could perhaps linger from the initial rehab timeline of him returning following the team's week 9 bye after head coach Todd Bowles gave an update on his recovery during an interview on the Ira Kaufman Podcast.
Todd Bowles opens up on status of Jalen McMillan
“It’s just a matter of the bones healing the right way,” Bowles said. “And those are such difficult bones to judge inside the neck, and I’m not in the medical profession, but he’s coming along. I think he’s in good spirits. And I think he’s getting a lot better, I just don’t know how close.”
The neck injury suffered by McMillan occurred during the team's second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers when he went up for a catch before a Steelers' defender undercut him, sending him flipping upside down and onto his neck.
McMillan's injury was initially reported as a severe neck strain, with his timetable to return to the field sometime after the team's bye week. That diagnosis apparently was incorrect, as Bowles cleared up that McMillan, in fact, broke bones in his neck during the same podcast interview.
Neck injuries are never good to play around with, so it was wise for the Bucs to be cautious from the beginning to make sure McMillan couldn't further injure himself by coming back too soon.
With the news now broken that McMillan had indeed broken bones in his neck, it will be interesting to see if he will be able to take the field at all in 2025. Bowles wasn't able to give any timeline for McMillan's return, so we could very well be looking at a situation where he either makes his return in the playoffs or misses the season completely, turning his eyes to a bounce-back campaign in 2026 next to Emeka Egbuka.
Chiefs Get Encouraging Outlook On Offensive Line Pair – Report
The Kansas City Chiefs face an ultra-important game on Sunday afternoon when they go up against the Buffalo Bills.
Despite being pre-season favorites to win their respective AFC East and West divisions – and the Bills by a heavy margin – both go into the game in second, a game behind the leaders in the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
The Chiefs have, broadly speaking, have managed to keep themselves away from the injury bug, but they will be without two starting members of the offense, Josh Simmons (personal reasons) and Isiah Pacheco, who is out with a knee issue.
They could also be facing further limitations on that side of the ball, as both guard, Trey Smith and tackle, Jaylon Moore, are both questionable to play.
Chiefs Questionable Offensive Linemen Expected To Play On Sunday
However, per Matt Derick of Chiefs Digest, the team expects both to start on Sunday.
Chiefs list LT Jaylon Moore (illness) and RG Trey Smith (back) as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, although the expectations are that both will play barring setbacks. https://t.co/ay5hdM4jkD
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) October 31, 2025
“Chiefs list LT Jaylon Moore (illness) and RG Trey Smith (back) as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, although the expectations are that both will play barring setbacks.” Derrick wrote on Friday.
First round rookie left tackle, Josh Simmons, has missed the past three games due a family situation, which has allowed offseason free agent pickup, Jaylon Moore to slide into the role in his absence.
Moore has performed admirably over the past three games since taking over the starting mantle, drawing praise from offensive coordinator, Matt Nagy, who even admitted that he was not fully sure if Simmons would remain the starter after returning to the team – something that is expected to happen over the course of the next few weeks.
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy says he hasn’t considered who will start at left tackle when Josh Simmons returns. He complimented Jaylon Moore for his consistency and his ability to rise to the challenge, but defers to Andy Reid and Brett Veach on choosing the starter.
“Chiefs OC Matt Nagy says he hasn’t considered who will start at left tackle when Josh Simmons returns. He complimented Jaylon Moore for his consistency and his ability to rise to the challenge, but defers to Andy Reid and Brett Veach on choosing the starter.” Derrick reported on Thursday.
The Chiefs Have One Of The Stronger Offensive Lines In Football
The best thing for Veach, Reid and co. is that Simmons was also playing well prior to his departure from the team. He has managed a 63.9 grade from Pro Football Focus over his first five games as a pro, ranking 42nd out of 77 qualifying players at the position.
But Moore has been able to surpass even that, coming in 68.8 from PFF, good for 31st.
Smith, on the other hand, will look to return to the team after missing week 8’s Monday night victory against the Washington Commanders, where the team put up 21 unanswered points in the second half as the Chiefs moved up to 5-3 on the year.
The former sixth round guard, who signed a massive four year, $94 million extension this past offseason, which currently makes him the second highest paid guard in the NFL, behind only the Dallas Cowboys‘ Tyler Smith, is a huge part of the offensive line – and his returned presence will be a massive boon for the offense, if he does manage to play.
